On the Line
by Sword of Daylight
Summary: Kuroko gets kidnapped right before a very important match against Kirisaki Daiichi High and the stakes for the game suddenly rise. It's not just their future in the sport they all love that's threatened, but Kuroko's life is on the line now. How will they save their phantom 6th man and can they do it before it's too late for him? (Swearing!)
1. Vanished

_**Important!  
**_ _ **I rewrote this chapter a little, since my writing has changed in the newer ones. It's still mostly the same content but with more details ;)**_

 **A/N:** My first ever Kuroko no Basket story, so please go easy on me here. It's set some time after the match against Jabberwock (with the exception that Kagami never left for America)

Have fun and enjoy :D

* * *

 _Sometimes, days just don't work the way you want them to and sometimes, it gets even worse.  
_ _When all you've been working for is on the line and when just one decision can mean losing everything…  
and everyone you care about._

* * *

 **Friday**

It was already growing dark on the streets, the shadows devouring the dimming light of the sun, leaving an almost beautiful twilight in the midst of the late summer evening. People were busy on the streets, rushing past or standing by the store windows to enjoy the sights within, while others seemed to be glad to get home from work.  
Within that busy crowd of individuals, there was an unlikely pair of teens, not even affected by the rushing stream of people passing them in their haste. At the first glance, those two seemed way too different to even stand as equals to each other, but if you looked closely, it was the exact opposite. A team which none could separate.

The redhead, who was almost 2 or 3 heads taller than the other teen, yawned heartly, stretching his arms until a slight disturbing pop sounded from his shoulders. _"Ah, man."_ he groaned. _"Couch really got us this time. I never thought I'd be that beat just from training."_ he mumbled, exhaustion was written all over his face. With a side glance, he looked down to his partner, who just stared blankly in front of himself. _"What about you, Kuroko? You were knocked down pretty hard a few times."_ he couldn't help himself but feel worried a little. His shadow wasn't one to openly show much of expressions, let alone when he felt sick. But it didn't needed an observing skill like the blue headed teen next to him had, to see his exhaustion clearly on his face.

Kuroko sighed, just audible enough to be barely heard. _"We have an important match tomorrow, Kagami-kun. Our Coach is just preparing us properly."_

That's what he said, Kagami thought, but Kuroko doesn't really looked like he was actually believing it himself. Nevertheless, the power forward couldn't resist to smile a little and he dragged the small tealhead into a quick, but gentle headlock to lighten the rather flat mood that had appeared after they had left the school gym. With a swift motion, though, Kuroko evaded the grip around his head easily like it was nothing to even break a sweat about it and straightened his black gakuran with a small frown tugging at his brows.

 _"There will be scouts from the professional league, Kagami-kun. Just because we won the Winter Cup, doesn't mean we can slacken off practice."_ There was a light sigh escaping Kuroko's lips, when he turned his attention back in front of him to observe his surroundings.  
 _"Yeah, I know. It's a huge opportunity for all of us to get into professional teams at some point. If we're in top form, we might even get contracts with the NBA."_ It was more then just obvious how giddy Kagami was about the prospect of getting the chance to be a world famous basketball player, so it was no surprise how excited the redheaded teen was.

 _"Yosh! Now I can't wait for the match!"_

Suddenly, Kagami stopped in his tracks, making Kuroko stop as well.

 _"Yo, Kuroko. Who are we playing again?"_

The question was so sudden, so blunt, but somehow, the bluenette knew he would be asking that. After all, it wasn't the first time Kagami was clueless of their next opponent. The slightest of smiles found its way on Kuroko's lips, barely noticeable, though it vanished just a second later, when he thought about the team they would face.

 _"It's Kirisaki Daiichi High. Coach told us about it during the practice 10 times now."_ Kuroko frowned ever so slightly, his gaze lifted upwards to his light. _"I'm concerned about your memory lapses, Kagami-kun. You might want to get this checked."_ he deadpanned.

Kagami flushed violently and waved his hands in embarrassment. _"I-I don't have memory lapses! Shut it, Kuroko!"_ he sputtered out and quickly turned his head away from the smaller teen, his face almost as red as his spiky hair. Kuroko smiled fondly at his sometimes not so subtle light. He had to admit, Kagami could be adorable at times.  
Turning his attention back onto the street in front of him, Kuroko absentmindedly rubbed his right upper arm, knowing a slight bruise was starting to form under the fabric.

Since they knew they were up against the uncrowned king Hanamiya Makoto and his winning strategie of foul play and injuring their opponents, Riko taught her team to be as prepared as they could be. Which, in the end, meant, to try and play as rough during practice as they would dare (without actually injuring their teammates of course), to get a feeling of how to avoid it this time around.

But since Kuroko's physique was below average for a basketball player, he got bruises more quickly than the others, even without getting knocked down everytime someone bumped into him.

Kagami seemed to catch on to that thought as well, as he surveyed his shadow and his unconscious reaction. He knew, that this was going to be a bothersome match. Sure, they fought them once before, but the results of the injuries they had to endure during the match lasted longer than they had preferred them to. None of them were spared and it wasn't just the physical injuries that stuck with them.  
A shiver shot down his entire body at the thought. He despised Hanamiya and his strategies, even if that kid was a genius. Kagami huffed inwardly. He would never let anyone hurt his team again, especially not Kuroko. He would protect him, no matter what would come his way.

Well. When he thought about it, he had grown way too fond of that little bluenette next to him, but he figured, he didn't care. He really liked being around him, hanging out with him. Being partners on and off the court was like a constant emotional ride, which he never wanted to miss again in his life. Though he still found himself flinch whenever Kuroko's lack of presence allows that little phantom to pop up out of nowhere and scares the living shit outta him.  
Taking a somewhat deep breath to get his thoughts together, Kagami sight, right before a genuine grin crossed his lips.  
 _"We'll win that match for sure. For the team and for our future!"_ Kagami smiled broadly and nudged his shadow beside him, who just rubbed the now even more sore spot afterwards.

Kuroko nodded. _"Yes. We will."_ he said with a smile and fist-bumped with Kagami.

 **.**

As they walked side by side, the bluenette suddenly stopped next to a bookstore, turning to his friend. _"Kagami-kun. Please wait for me. I have to return this book, before I get home."_

The second, Kagami turned himself around, he caught a glimpse of the cover from the book, Kuroko was holding in his hands and couldn't resist to smile, slightly amused.

 _'Passive self defence'_ with the picture of what looked like a shaolin monk or something like that. Not that Kagami had any real idea of what a shaolin monk would look like after all.

Kuroko must be preparing himself quite well for their next match. But that was the phantom 6th man for you. Doing everything he could and never giving up, despite the odds. Though Kagami never thought that his shadow would ever read a book like that. Even if it said _'passiv'_ , they were still techniques that were used in actual combat and real fights and Kuroko was always against violence. But if he remembered correctly, Seihou High used old martial arts techniques in their movements, so it wasn't completely out of the question that it would work for Kuroko as well...in one way or the other.

Kagami nodded after a short moment. _"Don't take too long. I'm starving."_

And with that, the bluenette turned around and vanished inside the store. Kagami on the other hand, found a railing on the pavement next to a tall tree to lean against, while his thoughts went off to who knows where.

And so he waited...and waited…

Seconds turned into minutes, and still, Kuroko hasn't returned. Kagami's stomach was growling fiercely by now that it already attracted a few weird looks from passers-by, who seemed to pick up their paces as soon as they heard it. Mumbling about 'starving' and 'Maji Burgers', the ace got his phone out of his pocket in annoyance to look at the time. 15 minutes had already passed, since his shadow left for the bookstore. That was weird. How long could it possibly take to return a book? Sure, Kuroko was easy to miss, but he could make himself noticed if he wanted to. And that definitely wouldn't take him 15 minutes to do so.

Kagami suddenly had a sinking feeling in his guts. Unease curled up inside him and all of a sudden a restless foreboding struck his mind. Something wasn't right. It wasn't like Kuroko to make him wait like this.

Without any further hesitation, the tiger entered the store, looking around impatiently for his shadow.  
 _"Kuroko? Yo, Kuroko?"_ no answer. Just a few upset and annoyed glances towards him for being too loud, but no one really seemed to care much otherwise.

Kagami stalked around the store, entering every row of bookshelves and calling out again and again for his friend, but he never got an answer. The blue haired teen was nowhere to be found and no one even seemed to have noticed him, not even the employees did. It was like he had never even been there in the first place.  
Suddenly, in one of the last rows, his gaze fell upon a lonely book with it's open pages on the Ground. His heart nearly stopped at the sight and dread crept up his insides, tightening his throat. It was the same book, Kuroko wanted to return and he would never leave it like that on his own accord.

The unease he first felt, had grown into a full blown panic, that threatened to rip his heart out. He knew it wasn't the first time he lost track of his shadow, but never like this before. Never with this much dread and foreboding in his mind.

With a great leap, the tiger jumped towards the exit door and nearly slammed the glass material into someone who just wanted to enter the store, but he couldn't care less about that right now, nor the nasty insults thrown at him. It didn't slowed him down in the least and as soon as he was outside and a few steps away from the entrance, he frantically dug for his phone in his pocket and the second he found it, he dialed a certain number with trembling fingers. He didn't had to wait long, until a female, slightly grumpy voice answered.

 _"Kagami? I already told you-" **"It's Kuroko!"**_ the harsh shout from the redhead cut Riko off and she immediately went silent for what felt like minutes. She seemed to have noticed the panic in Kagami's voice and the unsteady and heavy breath he huffed into the phone, which was disconcerting in itself.

 _"What's with him?"_ she sounded alerted, but calm.

 _"He's gone. And I really mean gone. Not just his 'lack of presence and no one notices him'-gone, but actually missing."_ Kagami restlessly paced up and down the pavement he was currently on while fidgeting with the strings of his sports bag with his free hand.

 _"You sure? He vanished without us knowing a few times now. Maybe he's got some business for himself or something-"_

 _" **NO!** Not this time!"_ the frustrated shout from their ace silenced Riko again, but this time Kagami could feel a certain dark aura emitting from the woman, even through the phone and the redhead gulped, suppressing a silent cough to calm himself down. _"Sorry..."_ he mumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose.  
 _"Kuroko asked me to wait for him. He wanted to return a book, but never came out again. I looked for him inside but no one even remembers him. I found the book he wanted to return on the ground...He would never do that and he wouldn't just leave me standing here like this."_ He tried to sound calm, but he got more and more upset, that even Riko could feel unease rising up inside her.

 _"Alright. I'll send the boys out to look for him, too. You cover the area where you are."_

Kagami nodded in relieve, though Riko couldn't even see it. _"Thanks."_  
He knew he could count on her in times like this. He never made a real deal about something that wasn't important or needed attention to and she knew that about him. On the other hand, if he really got the feeling that something was wrong, he was most likely be right about it. It wasn't just intuition, it was instinct. And his instinct practically yelled at him that Kuroko was in danger.

After hanging up, Kagami turned on his heels and sprinted down the street. Whatever this gut wrenching feeling was, he was experiencing right now, he hoped he wasn't too late. It was his fault...he was right there to do something...but he didn't. He didn't know about what was going on or that there even was something wrong beforehand and that was the worst of it. Now, all he could do, was find his best friend and shadow, before anything could happen to him.

...if it wasn't already to late.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Reviews are more than welcome.**

 **If there are some misspellings, I'm sorry |'D**

 **And if any character might be ooc, please tell me.**

 **Daylight**


	2. Dare to win?

**Yosh, new chapter ;) It's getting interesting now.**

 **Btw. I'm still looking for a beta reader for this story, since I'm literally through almost all KnB beta readers, and couldn't find one who was actually still active ._. So if anyone is interested or knows someone, please PM me ^^°**

 **Enjoy the chapter, hope you like it^^**

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Half an hour had already past and still no one could find even the slightest of hints to where Kuroko might be. Neither on the street courts, nor any other store nearby. None had seen him and it was getting darker by the minute.

Damn! It was hard enough to search for someone in a big city, but looking for someone whose presence was almost non existent, well, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Where on earth could he be?

.

Meanwhile in the gym of Seirin high.

Riko was pacing up and down frequently, thinking, with her brows furrowed deep.

She couldn't imagine why Kuroko would go off somewhere like that without telling at least Kagami about it. Even his phone has been turned off, so every call was quite useless. Well, maybe not 'off', but she couldn't reach him, that's for sure.

Restlessness had cought her very body and her pacing got more and more irregular as she glanced towards the clock on the wall and to the door every other minute, as if she hoped to see the bluenette randomly standing there with his blunt look, as he mostly does. But no. The more she hoped, the more she got frustrated with him not being there.

A sudden vibration in her pocket caught her off guard and she jerked right out of her thoughts immediately. She could barely stifle a scream of surprise.

It was her phone buzzing. Was it Kuroko? Calling her, to tell her he was fine? That their worrying was unnecessary?

Oh, if she could get her hands on him right now she would tear his head right off for making her worry like this. He really got some nerves.

She fidgeted with the device for a few seconds until she looked on the lit up display.

 _„A mail?"_ she unconsciously said out loud, more than just a little bit confused. But something bothered her as soon as she saw the address. It was from Kuroko alright...but the subject was kinda disturbing for her.

 _„Dare to win?"_ Riko frowned, both curious and irritated, but nevertheless she opened it, despite the weird feeling she got. Kuroko actually had some kind of dark humor at times...but she couldn't imagine he would even write something so...provoking just as a joke.

Her frown deepened when she saw that a Video had been added to the mail and without a second of hesitation, she started it...

...and turned pale as a ghost almost immediately, regretting everything she had thought negatively about Kuroko seconds ago…

.

Just a few minutes after Riko had phoned her team to come back asap, the first one arrived back at the gym.

Hyuga seemed confused, as he jogged over to their coach, but stopped when he noticed her trembling body. His heart skipped a beat, seeing her that way. Riko wasn't someone who got scared so easily. Hell, she was terrifying on her own sometimes. So whatever had her so distressed, it must've been something really bad. And with that thought, Hyuga turned pale himself, the worst cases crossing his mind.

 _„What happened? Is Kuroko okay? Did someone found him?"_ he sounded tense and when he was finally standing next to their coach, she shook her head silently, not looking at the taller boy. _„Wait until the others are here."_ Riko finally managed to say, her gaze still fixed on the ground as if she was too focused to compose herself, than to look up.

One after another kept arriving at the gym, all of them tensed up when they saw Riko, until the whole team was gathered around her.

 _„So, what's the matter? Where's Kuroko?"_ Kagami's frustration about the whole situation was more than obvious and since he had to stop looking for his shadow, it got worse. He was like a restless wild tiger, tensed up to a level of stressed anticipation that it made everyone around him nervous.

Riko glared at him, silencing him almost immediately. After that, she took a deep breath to calm herself down for what she had to tell them...or more precise, show them.

 _„I've got a massage from Kuroko's phone."_ she stated in a weird mixture of unease and calmness, but it produced the desired effect.

The team gulped simultaneously, as they all seemed to realise what she meant with her statement. She hadn't mentioned _'from Kuroko'_ , but rather _'from Kuroko's phone'._ Which only could mean the worst case if she was so concerned right now. The atmosphere grew colder instantly.

 _„What's it say?"_ Kagami voiced, what the whole team wasn't daring to ask in that moment, dreading the answer.

 _„It's a video with the subject 'Dare to win'."_

With that, Riko opened the mail on her large phone screen again and waited, until the others had gathered behind her to take a better look at it. After that, she pressed play.

Within the first second after the video started, every color drained out of the viewers faces as they saw a bloody and beaten up young teen, tied to an old wooden chair in the middle of a dusty, half lit room. His baby-blue head was leaning slightly against his chest, so his bangs covered most of his face. He seemed to be unconscious or at least close to it, but his breathing was ragged, unsteady and he was trembling all over.

 _„Kuroko!"_ Kagami gasped, disbelieve in his voice. This wasn't real, right?

It was a joke! It had to be! Or a nightmare! Something other then reality!

 _„W-what is this?"_ Koganei suddenly blurted out, shocked beyond any imagination, as he covered his mouth with both hands.

All of them were too petrified, too scared to really comprehend what was happening now.

Suddenly, from the right corner of the camera, a shadow emerged, hooded and covered in dark garment with a frightening clowns mask to hide his face. He lifted his left, gloved hand in the direction of the camera with a heavy looking, golden, brass knuckle clutched in it. He seemed way to sure of himself, but on the other hand, it was damn intimidating to see the whole szenario.

 _„Do you still dare to win?"_ the dark and raspy voice of the hooded figure sent shivers down the viewers spines, as he began to speak. It sounded malicious, devious and to their disgust, he seemed to enjoy the whole situation to the fullest.

With one swift move, the man clawed his fingers into Kuroko's usually silky soft hair and jerked the teens head up forcefully. Kuroko gasped in pain and whimpered quietly, as his head was forced into an uncomfortable angle to his left side. He tried his best, not to give that stranger the satisfaction of showing his pain.

But it was clear as day now, what their teammate already had been through and it shocked them to the core to see him suffer like that.

There was a deep gash on Kuroko's lower lip that was still bleeding and a bloody bruise on his left forehead where the red fluid had dyed his hairline and bangs in a dirty purple color. Another cut was just above his right eye that was still bleeding as well. His nose seemed to be broken quit a bit and even without seeing all of Kuroko's body, Riko and the others were sure that under his clothing where even more bruises.

 _„It's simple."_ the mischievous voice continued and snapped the lot out of their fixating trance on their friend.

 _„Lose your next game, an he'll be fine."_ he paused, increasing his grip on Kuroko's hair a bit more that made the teen flinch.

 _„Win, and..."_ he shoved his left hand with the brass knuckles into the bluenette's face, stopping just a few inches away from his eye. Kuroko watched the already bloodstained metal in sheer dread, trying to wiggle himself out of the titan grip on his hair, but it failed miserably. It was obvious how scared the boy really was. None of them had ever seen so much fear in their friends eyes, and if they were honest, they never wanted to see it in the first place.

 _„I think you know what I mean."_ the hooded man continued with his dark voice, shaking the viewers out of their frozen state of shock.

No one had to see that guys face for that, but everyone could tell that he was smiling madly.

 _„And if this wasn't clear. If you cancel the match or ask the cops for help, he'll die in an instant."_ the man almost growled and leaned slightly towards the camera to make his point clear. The clowns mask helped a lot, too.

Suddenly, Kuroko seemed to have noticed the loosened grip of his tormentor and with a surprisingly loud yelp, the phantom player janked his head free, a few strands of blue hair ripped out, and shouted directly into the camera. His eyes glistened with a determination no one would've thought he still possessed after that hell of a torture.

 ** _„Don't worry about me! Fight them! Win the-!"_** he was cut off painfully, as the golden brass knuckles collided with the left side of his face, cutting another bleeding gash into his pale and already bruised skin. Kuroko screamed in pain and agony, which he seemed trying to stifle down, but failed.  
 ** _„_** ** _You son of a-!"_** They saw the man already taking another swing, ready to punch the blue head again...

...but the display turned black. The video was over.

The silence that consumed everything afterwards was almost crushing. No one dared to speak up, too disturbed, too shocked to even react to anything in that moment. Breathing became hard for everyone as they finally realized the severity of the situation they were in. This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. How could it?

Kagami was the first who released is breath, not knowing he was holding it at all.

 _„That can't be true, right?"_ he chuckled desperately nervous, as if he was still thinking...hoping, it was all just a dumb joke. But his whole body was shaking in disbelief. He knew this was real. His friend has been kidnapped...and had been tortured...still was. That…  
He couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe he failed his best friend. He failed to protect him, to help him. Damn, he should've gone with him into the bookstore, then none of this would've happened! He screwed up!

 _„_ _Damn it!"_ Kagami growled desperatley, teeth gnashing. He pressed the palm of his hand onto his eyes, to cover the overwhelming and crushing feeling of loss and self loathing, for not being able to do anything right now.

 _„Denying won't help us now."_ Riko said, almost calm, watching her team closely. She knew they were shocked to the core, hell, she was still trembling all over and she couldn't do anything about it. She just saw him a few hours ago and now he was at the mercy of that psychopath? How the hell could she even process that?

The whole situation sank in forcefully into one after the other but there was still disbelieve in the air of what they had just witnessed.

Their teammate, their phantom, their friend...he was held hostage...and for what? A match? Why in the world would anybody do this?  
Right now, it was too much for them to process, to comprehend completely.

 _„What do we do now? The match is in two days."_ Itzuki looked around after he gained some self controll again, obviously hoping for any suggestions on that matter.

 _„That leaves us with one whole day to find him!"_ Kagami's forcefully strong voice shook the other teammates finally out of their stupor.

 _„He's right. But what can we do? We don't know who kidnapped him, or where he even is."_

 _„We've no clue how to find him, but we really need to hurry this up, guys."_

 _„Hyuga is right. Kuroko has a strong will, but he can't last much longer, if this continues."_ Riko frowned to think. As far as she could tell by the looks of Kuroko in the video, he still seemed to manage the situation quite well, everything considered. He still had hope and determination in his eyes and he wouldn't give up that easily.  
Yes, the teen had a strong will to keep fighting, but at some point, everyone breaks, no matter how strong willed they were. And there was still the fact, that Kuroko was indeed mentally strong, but not physically. How long could his body keep up with the torture he went through? It was a race against time.

But on the other hand...

They were in a pinch. All of them loved basketball and being forced to lose against Kirisaki Daiichi High after they won the Winter Cup against Rakuzan last year, infront of literally everyone. It would ruin them forever, especially since this was the last year for the upperclassmen Hyuga, Itzuki, Mitobe, Koganei and Tsuchida.

But they couldn't risk losing a friends life for that.

 _„Coach..."_ the surprisingly soft tone of Kagami almost startled Riko. He seemed unsure of how to voice his thoughts, but nevertheless continued. _„Can you mail me the video?" he paused for a moment._ _„P_ _lease?"_

Riko surveyed the redhead skeptical, but the stern look on their ace's face was convincing enough for her and she nodded. If he asked about it, he would probably have some sort of plan..or maybe not. Kagami wasn't actually the type of guy who really thought things through. But if it came to Kuroko, Riko was sure that the redhead would do everything he could to save his partner.

After she send him the video onto his phone, Kagami turned on his heels with a: _„I'll be right back. Wait for me."_ and vanished out of the gym.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed it so far ;) Next chapter will be coming up soon. I'm trying to upload at least once every week.**

 **Reviews are very welcome.**

 **Daylight**


	3. He needs help

**And here comes another chapter ;) Thanks to Insanity under the moonlight for letting me know, that there actually is a difference with "..." and „..." format of dialouge.**

 **Enjoy and have fun reading ^^**

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He hated himself for doing this, but there wasn't enough time to think too much, right now. He had to do it. _'He'_ might be able to help him and for now, Kagami would do everything he possibly could to save his best friend and partner.

The redhead looked down on his phone he was holding tight in his hand, but hesitated for a moment, before he started scrolling through his contact list.

There he was...

Well, Kagami never thought he would actually have to use that number at all – anyones number from _'them'_ , really -, but now, he somehow was glad to have it. Kuroko gave it to him after the match with Jabberwock for whatever reason and now it might even save his life. Maybe this was fate...if he'd ever believed in that kind of stuff.

A heavy sigh left Kagami's throat and he had to force his own dislike about this into a far corner of his mind, before he started typing on the touch screen.

The video of Kuroko and a short message - _'He needs help.'_ \- were the only things Kagami added to the mail. After sending it, he just had to wait for a reply from Akashi Seijuro.

.

It took approximately as long as the video was, until he received an answer.

 _"Tell your coach I want to see you all at Rakuzan High. Please take the next possible train."_ Kagami read out loud, a blood vessel popping up on his temple as he did. He hated that about Akashi. Always demanding and short in explanations, leaving no way of refusal...but somehow polite? Even after he changed during the match against Jabberwock - which Kagami still had trouble understanding completely - the other redhead was still weird from time to time, but not as psychopathic as before. But nonetheless, he didn't dare to question him in this matter. Not that he was intimidated by Akashi or something like that. No one really managed to do that, if Kagami was concerned. Though he had to admit he was a little bit... _'surprised'_ the first time...and maybe the second time he met the current captain of Rakuzan High in person.  
Seriously! He had attacked him with a freaking scissor! You know who does that? Crazy People! _  
_But after everything that happened and what they went through, he somehow acknowledged him. After all, the teen wasn't the former captain of the Generation of Miracles for nothing.

The ace sighed in defeat and turned around to head back into the gym, where his team was waiting for him in confusion and anticipation.

 **.**

 **.**

 **"** _ **You did what?!"**_ Riko immediately shouted, after Kagami had explained what he just did and silenced everyone in the gym at the same time.  
 _"How are we even supposed to get to Kyoto so fast that late? It's already past 7 and we need roundabout 2 and a half hours to get there. What is he thinking? And besides that, the school is closed, what does he wants us to do? Break in?"_ after finishing her tirade, she slammed her hand furiously against her head and sighed deeply in exasperation.

 _"You could've at least told us about your plan before."_ she adding a little softer but still with her hand covering her face.

Kagami coughed slightly, somewhat apologetic. _"I know, and I'm sorry. But he's more likely the only one who will help us right now, so I'll definitely go."_ it was quite irritating how much faith the red haired teen suddenly had in Akashi, but if anything, they understood. He was desperate to save his shadow, as all of them were, and he was reaching out for every straw he might get. Even if that straw was the infamous Akashi Seijuro. It actually wasn't even up for discussion. Riko had accepted the idea to see the captain, the second Kagami had proposed it, anyway. She just wanted to make sure that everyone knew what was on her mind, before they would go.

" _Alright, then. We can't waste more time. Kuroko is counting on us!"_ With a synchronized _'YOSH!'_ from the whole team and a fist bump in the air, they grabbed their bags and hurried out. The train was ultimately the fastest possible way of transportation right now and since it wasn't rush hour anymore, it was quite empty when they entered.

 **.**

 **.**

" _I'm surprised you asked Akashi-kun for help."_

" _Never thought you'd be that close with them."_

" _How'd you even got his number?"_

After they left the central station in Kyoto, the rest of the way to Rakuzan High wasn't really that far, but for Kagami it seemed way too long after Izuki, Koganei, Furihata and Fukuda had started asking one stupid remark after another, pissing him off as they went. He wasn't even sure if they did that on purpose or not, but it kind of helped to ease up the tense atmosphere that had stuck with them the whole train ride. Neither of them could completely grasp the whole situation at the moment yet and meeting up with Akashi in person was, despite how friendly they parted the last time, still a little bit difficult for most of them. Sure, the red-maroon haired captain was nice and polite now, but he still had that intimidating aura around him that could scare the hell out of most people. And anyone could guess that he wouldn't be as nonchalant as before, when the whole reason of meeting him was saving Kuroko from a kidnapper.

Rakuzan High finally came into view, when they made their final turn and as Riko had stated before, the school seemed all dark and closed. No single light was on inside the building, except for a few lamps outside on the courtyard. Heck, it was past ten already, what did they expect, when they were called here? It would be a surprise to even see anyone around.  
That's what they thought, before they actually noticed a shadowy figure, standing next to the giant entrance gate, watching them with his sharp, bright red-maroon eyes. He peeled himself out of the dark the second they spotted him, revealing a slim stature with his typical Rakuzan jersey and a light jacket hanging loosely over his shoulders.  
" _It's nice to see you all again."_ Akashi bowed in a polite manner, smiling softly at them. " _You made it in time, I see."_

The smaller redhead looked calm and collected, though there was tension in his stance that wasn't usual for him. Even Kagami and the others could pick that up. It was never a good sign when Akashi was tense and who knew that better than Kagami.

 _"Please follow me."_ forcing the members of Seirin out of their hesitational stupor, the red haired captain turned around and headed towards the entrance of the school with the others closing up behind him. Riko had to jog quite a bit, before she could catch up to his pace, but as soon as they walked side by side, she used her opportunity to talk for a bit.

" _I'm surprised you're allowed to use the school this late, Akashi-kun."_ Riko stated calmly, watching him closely from the corner of her eyes. " _Did you get extra permission for this? I mean this is a rather sudden situation."_ she was just testing the water with him. She never had the chance of actually talking to him so casually and if she was honest, she still couldn't figure him out. But Akashi merely smiled and kept quiet. Damn, why did he had to be so cryptic at times? Riko took a deep breath that went unnoticed by anyone, until her features turned more serious and concearned. _"What do you think about this? Who would do such a horrible thing?"_ of course she ment their current situation. _"As it is now, I can't say for sure."_ Akashi finally anwsered with a rather reserved expression.

 **.**

The moment they entered the building was like walking into another dimension. It was a major difference to what they were used to at Seirin. Hell, even in the semi darkness it still looked more impressive and expensive than their own school in broad daylight.

 _"Wohoa, so that's the difference in money."_ Kawahara looked around, stunned by all the new impressions he got, just by walking down the corridors, marveling the clean floors and decorated walls. Even Mitobe seemed to be impressed, though he kept quiet.

 _"I don't like it..."_ it was kind of frustrating, even for Hyuga to admit it, but after all, money really did made the difference. Not that he would change his school for any of that. Neither of Seirin's members would. But still. It was impressive and frustrating all the same.

After what felt like hours of walking through endless corridors, and past dark classrooms, Akashi finally came to a hold in front of a door with the inscription _'Media room'_ on it.

Now it seemed pretty obvious what he had in mind, calling them all over.

But before anyone could even voice their thoughts, the red haired teen swiftly opened the door and out of a sudden a loud **_„Kagamicchi!"_** echoed from inside the room, leaving all of Seirin's members frozen in place.

A pretty blonde teen was waving at them rapidly with excitement from his place right next to the door, a huge grin on his face. It was the copycat player and model, Kise Ryota.

After that first shock, Kagami and the others finally began to spot the presence of more people in the room, besides Kise. Three, to be exact.

 _"Yo, Bakagami. You're late."_ the grumpy voice of the dark bluehaired ace from Tōō directed their attention to one of the windows, Aomine Daiki was casually sitting in, grinning challengingly towards the tiger.

Kagami snarled back in reply, merely reacting on instinct of being insulted. He clenched his fists and was ready to strike back. _"Who are you calling Bakagami, you-!"_ a hard slap on the back of his head silenced Kagami right away, while Riko cracked her fingers behind him, leaving the ace grumbling infuriated.

On the same windowsite, in the front row was yet another person sitting, holding what seemed like a...plug strip? The greenhead sternly pushed his glasses up his nose, as he surveyed the team who was still standing at the door, mouth agape. It looked like Midorima Shintaro wasn't really happy to be there in the first place, but came nevertheless and nodded slightly to greet the others. _"It's been quite some time, since we saw each other."_ he stated calmly, not really looking at anyone specific.

The last of them had himself placed in the last row on the other side, a stack of snacks in front of him, while wolfing down one bag of chips and other sweets after another. Murasakibara Atsushi obviously wasn't even aware of the newcomers presence, since he didn't even took a glance at them. He was way too focused on the next bag of umaibo in his large hands, than actually paying attention to anything else.

Still confused, Riko was the first who really entered the room, Kagami at her heels. " _What's going on? Why are they here?"_

 _"I called them here."_ Akashi stated, matter of fact, as he walked towards the TV that was stationed in front of an old blackboard that wasn't used anymore.

 _"If Tetsuya's life depends on our actions, I won't take any risks to endanger him further in underestimating the situation."_

It struck Seirin, how serious not just Akashi took this, but the whole generation of miracles itself. After what they've went through – all of them - during the Winter Cup and the match against Jabberwock, they obviously wouldn't let their former teammate down. And since Kagami had fought alongside all of them, he knew how reliable those five prodigies could be, if they were motivated enough. And knowing their friend being tortured, surely was motivation enough.

 _"So, we're all here. What are we doing now, Akashicchi?"_ Kise looked nervous and his restless fidgeting with his fingers made it quite obvious, that he was affected severely by the fact that Kuroko had been kidnapped. But not just him.

If they looked close enough, they could see the miracles' expression of composure was just on the surface. They were all worried. Aomine kept fumbling absentmindedly with the fabric of his shirt, clenching his fists over and over. Midorima was pushing his glasses up more frequently than usual, while fidgeting with his lucky item and Murasakibara...well...he was eating a lot. But if that really was nervousness or just him eating normally was difficult to decide.

Akashi looked around for a moment. _"Since we don't have any lead to where Tetsuya is held captive, we have to work with what we have right now."_ with that, he lifted his right hand he was holding a disc in.

Riko gasped. _"Is that-?"_ she looked stunned when she realised, that Akashi must've converted the video from the mail Kagami had sent him to a dvd disc. Damn, he was good.

The point guard of Rakuzan nodded. " _It is easier to detect anything that might be important during the video this way, than on the small screen of a phone."_

His explanation made sense.

Kagami huffed and made his way to the front row, where he found a seat next to Midorima, while the others from Seirin followed his example and took seats in all the remaining rows.

There was a tension in the air that everyone seemed to feel and it grew into an unsteady, unease sensation for most of them.

The last time they saw each other was the party after Vorpal Swords had won the match, but it didn't help lift the mood for any of them. The threat of Kuroko being tortured hung over them like a thick fog, making it hard to focus on anything.

But the second, Akashi raised his voice again, their attention automatically drifted towards him.

 _"I want everyone of you to look closely. Any lead, anything that might help locating Tetsuya's whereabouts is important. Don't take this lightly."_ his voice had dropped an octave lower, making everyone in the room twitch. Even Murasakibara had put his snacks aside and was now staring at the TV in concentration. None of them wanted to mess with Akashi under these circumstances...or any circumstances for that matter.

After he was sure to have their undivided attention, the redhead started the video, well knowing the disturbing content might horrify them even further. He had shown the video to his former teammates to prepare them for this, but still. It was hard, even for himself to watch this, without feeling endless rage and hate for the person who did all of that to their friend. If it came to the small bluehead, it wasn't just Kagami who felt protective about him. Especially Aomine and Kise were closer to him, now more than ever and even Akashi was more fond of the phantom than he cared to admit. The same was for Midorima and Murasakibara, as well as team Seirin.

Now it was up to them, to save Kuroko, as he saved them selflessly so many times before.

* * *

 **I really hope Akashi isn't out of character at this point. I'm trying to go for his intimidating, but caring, polite and nice version of him, like he was at the end of the movie. If you see him or anyone too much ooc, please tell me and I try to fix it |D**

 **But other than that, I hope you enjoyed it ^^**

 **Daylight**


	4. Just for revenge?

**I'm so sorry for the long wait.  
** **I kept rewriting this chapter like a 100 times until I was actually satisfied, so it took a little longer to finish it. Sorry for that ^^°**

 **And big thanks for the Reviews :D**

 **Chapter warning: Swearing, mostly from Aomine and Kagami.**

* * *

As Akashi had expected it, everyone in the half-lit mediaroom had their difficulties watching the video again. The constant, uncomfortable shuffling of feet on the ground from  
Riko, Hyuuga and Mitobe, the silent whines now and then from the three Seirin first-years Furihata, Fukuda and Kawahara and the occasionally hisses from Koganei, Izuki and Tsuchida, were the most audible signs of stress and unease around the people watching.

While Kagami and the Generation of Miracles displayed their own, more silent ways of discomfort and restlessness. In the front row was Kagami silently clenching his fists again and again, his knuckles turning white in the process. He could barely keep his agitated growls in, that tried to escape from the back of his throat. Next to the door on the seat was Kise, who was biting down on his lip so fierceful and absentminded that he seemed oblivious about the sore spot that was almost bleeding. He was desperate to keep watching, even though he'd rather close his eyes and ears to shut it all out. In the back, Murasakibara had stopped eating completely, not even touching one bit of his Snacks he usually wolfed down as if starving at any moment. Instead, he was hugging the last bag of Umaibo to his chest like it was some kind of a lifesaver while chanting almost inaudible 'Kuro-chin' over and over again. And on the windowsill, even Aomine flinched at the sight of his former shadow being hurt, as if it would physically hurt himself. Same as Kagami, he was just barely able to keep his mouth shut for the time being.

No matter what happened between them in the past, the GoM just couldn't see their friend in pain.

The only one who seemed composed at all was Midorima. He was solely focused not just on the half conscious phantom, but rather on the visible injuries, that caught his attention the most. He knew, from the experience of his parents, that those wounds, not treated well, could lead to serious problems - even if they were small. Especially the bruise on Kuroko's forehead. It was possible that he might even have a concussion caused by the heavy hit on his head and if that was the case, Kuroko needed help more urgent now. A concussion wasn't something to laugh about, though not as dramatic as traumatic brain injury, but still bad to deal with and it might affect Kuroko's health for the next days to come.  
But even if Midorima knew all this by now...there was nothing he could do about it and it was frustrating him.

.

They kept rewatching the whole video over and over again and it was a nightmare for all of them. But so far, none had seen anything that might help. Nothing they could use to track him down, nothing that would lead to his capturer. The only thing notable was the windowless room that might lead to a cellar of a probably larger building, but with just that, it was nearly impossible to narrow anything down.

Until...

 ** _"Wait a sec!"_ **Kise's sudden outburst, startled all of the occupants in the room, giving most of them nearly a heart attack in the process. The blond jumping up so forcefully that it ultimately knocked his chair down with a loud _thud_ when it hit the ground.

 _"Rewind a little bit!"_ he added and Akashi did as he was asked, not even bothered by the demanding sound of Kise's voice. Even if he was bothered, he pretended not to be.

The model nearly lunged himself over his desk when he started to point frantically at the screen, as if his life depended on it. Well, not his, but rather Kuroko's.

 _"There! There! Look at his hand! His hand! I think Kurokocchi is trying to give us a hint or something!"_

Like a moth was drawn towards light, everyone's eyes were drawn simultaneously to the direction Kise pointed out so fierceful...and indeed.

 _"I think you're right."_ Izuki squinted his hawk like eyes to focus on the screen. _"There's faint movement in his index finger, not easy to catch from another perspective, but it really does look like as if he is trying to...write Kanjis?"_ Seirin's Point Guard looked back up again, excitement and slight confusion in his eyes as if he had just figured out the solution to all their problems. And he might even have.

But Hyuga frowned. Was that really it? A hint from Kuroko? Was he really trying to tell them something? Or was it just a nervous twitch of his hand, caused by the pain, fear and trauma he went through? Maybe they just interpreted something into it, where nothing should be to be interpreted in. They just desperately wanted to find _ANYTHING_ at all. But would Kuroko really be able to think of something like that in his situation? Would he actually try to tell them where he was? Or who did it?

 _"Shintarou!"_ Akashi raised his voice above the starting murmurs in the room, without even lifting his gaze from the tv screen.

Midorima nodded, a pencil in hand. _"I'm already on it, nanodayo."_

Skipping back and forth through the video over and over again, the green haired shooting guard concentrated solely on Kuroko's hand to write down what the bluenette was trying to tell them. If it really was some kind of message at all. But right now, they would take anything they could, if it meant getting closer to freeing Kuroko.

At one point though, the teal-headed teen suddenly stopped with his phantom-writing, as if he seemed to have noticed the glance of the stranger towards his hand, despite the creepy clowns mask. From that point on, Kuroko was probably too scared or too careful to continue his actions.

Midorima frowned sceptical, when he tried to read what he had written down, shifting his glasses up and down his nose a few times to adjust it.

 _"What the heck are we suppose to read out of that shitty writing?"_ Aomine growled without another thought after he leaned himself over Midorima's shoulder to get a better view. The page was full of attempts of failed kanjis, crossed out and rewritten a couple of times, so it wasn't easy to read them in a straight line. But it wasn't Midorima's handwriting to blame, which was actually very accurate and clean. It was more about the Kanjis themself no one could decipher properly. At least none of them who were gathered behind the green headed teen, who was constantly rumbling in annoyance about Aomine's accusation about his writing, he was usually proud of.

Kagami leaned over as well, towards the other male next to him. _"Sorry, but I don't think that's even a word, let alone a sentence..."_ he tilted his head a few times, even though he knew it wouldn't help at all. None of the Kanjis looked particularly like real ones, though some might as well be but in strange order and without any kontext. _"Is that a hidden message or something?"_ Koganei frowned, squinting his eyes.

 _"What if you use a mirror?"_ the almost blunt question from Riko caught literally all of them off guard, as they stared at her with confusion in their eyes. _"What?"_

An audible sigh left Riko's lips as she lightly facepalmed herself. _"Isn't it obvious? I'm surprised you guys haven't noticed. If Kuroko-kun is trying to write something, it would be in HIS perspective. So what we see is most likely mirrored."_

Someone could have actually counted down from 3 to 0, until the boys caught up on that train of thought. Even Midorima looked quite stunned. Maybe a little affronted that he wasn't the one to think of that first, but he was still impressed.

 _"You're a Genius, coach!"_ Furihata exclaimed enthusiastically, jumping up from his place and towards the group that had formed around Midorima and Kagami's desks. But fairly soon they realised they forgot about something...a mirror.

Suddenly everyone's attention darted simultaneously towards Kise, except for Akashi, who was still staring at the video. It seemed he trusted the others to find the solution without his help.

Kise looked startled, blushing even by the surprise attention on him. _"Eh? W-why are you guys looking at me now?"_

It took him a few seconds to connect the allusions towards him and he pouted as a result, crossing his arms in front of him affronted. _"Why'd you think I have a mirror at hand? I'm not the girl in this room."_ He sulkily murmured. The remark would've actually been witty, if the blond wouldn't pull out a hand mirror from the inside of his jacket nonetheless, passing it to Midorima with an even greater pout on his face. _"One day, you will ask me about something girlishly and then I won't have it."_ Kise grumbled, but none really paid any attention anymore.

As soon as Midorima had the small mirror, he did what Riko suggested and tried to reflect what was on the page, until he could properly read it.

 _"_ 花宮 真 _(Hanmiya Makoto)..._ 霧崎第一 _(Kirisaki Daiichi)..."_ he read out loud, eyes wide as realisation struck and he looked up just to see the rest of them as shocked as he was.

 _"That bastard!"_ Kagami snarled dangerously, clenching his fists so hard, his knuckles turned white. _"I knew that guy was rotten, but that's a whole new low!"_

Aomine slammed his fist furiously onto the desk in front of him, almost knocking Midorima's lucky item off the table. _"Kidnapping Tetsu just for revenge? That little shit!"_ Both aces emitted such an aggressive aura, that anyone could tell that they were really ready for the kill.

But even Murasakibara was standing behind his desk, his snacks clattering to the ground without him minding at all right now. _"No one hurts Kuro-chin! I'll crush them all!"_ he growled in a way, no one had ever heard before from the giant.

 _"They will pay for what they did to Kurokocchi!"_ Kise snarled angry. Not many have seen him with such an aggressive and dangerous expression before, his warm amber eyes radiated a fire of rage that seemed to burn everything in sight.

Seirin almost froze at that nail-biting tension that surrounded Kagami and the others of the Generation of Miracles. Never have they seen them this aggressive and on edge before when it wasn't on the court. The atmosphere was so thick by now that it could be cut with a knife and no one else from Seirin dared to speak a single word, too surprised about the reactions from the others.

 _"We shouldn't jump to conclusions, right now."_ Akashi's sudden cold voice send shivers down everyone's spine and the already tense atmosphere from before dropped a few degrees more, when they turned towards the red haired captain, stunned.

How could he be so calm, knowing who kidnapped Kuroko? How could he not be angry about Hanamiya right now? What was wrong with him?

It wasn't just Kagami who thought that, but no one dared to voice it at all, so they just waited for him to say something.

 _"There seems to be more to it, than we assume at the moment."_ Akashi continued. He hasn't turned his gaze away from the tv once.

 _"It's true that it definitely is related to Kirisaki Daiichi High and it's captain, but I don't think that it's all."_ he paused, not just himself, but the video as well and turned to the rest.

 _"But we do know, that Kuroko is held somewhere, that has a connection with a certain match. And the only match in the next few days, is Seirin's."_

He could hear a few gasping sounds at his rather blunt and calm statement, that seemed to be out of the blue, but it calmed the heated heads down a little bit. _"How'd you know that, Akashi? As far as we know, Kuroko could be anywhere."_ Hyuga interjected with concern, but careful of his choice of words. The smile that formed on Akashi's lips startled Hyuga though. He looked like as if he would have to explain the most obvious thing to a little child and if Seirin's captain was honest, it pissed him off.

 _"Listen closely."_ The smile faded and Akashi turned the volume on the tv to the max. Everyone in the room went silent, as they tried to listen carefully to get what the Point guard was referring to.

It took them a few times, since it wasn't as obvious to hear as they thought and they had to strain their ears quite a lot to catch it, but at the end, something was getting clearer.

.

 _~Ready for the match? Man, I can't wait. It will be interesting seeing them fight again._

 _It's a while since the last one.~_

 _~Yeah, you bet. I'm sure they will score even more points now than last time.~_

.

It was a faint conversation coming from somewhere behind the camera and out of view, muffled through a door or something and it grew even fainter as if the ones who spoke just passed by. The kidnapper didn't seem to notice it at all, or maybe he didn't cared about it. It was difficult to say. But Akashi was right. Whoever was there, talked about a match and it was sure as hell that they must mean Seirin vs Kirisaki Daiichi. It was the only competition held in the next few days.

 ** _"That's it!"_** Seirin's ace yelled in anger and agitation, startling his teammates and Midorima as well, who was still sitting next to him.

 _"Those bastards are holding Kuroko at their damn school! I'm gonna-!"_

 _" **NO** , you don't!"_ the harsh interruption from Akashi immediately silenced Kagami, making him flinch out of instinct. Both redheads stared at each other for a few seconds, sparks almost visibly shooting between them.

 _"You are **NOT** going to march in there!"_ those cold eyes Akashi still had, when he was angry or serious, pierced through the tiger and sending more shivers through his entire body in response.

 _"Until we're not certain, that Tetsuya is there, we should not act rashly. So calm yourself, Taiga!"_ the deep and dangerous voice of Rakuzan's captain left no room for any kind of protest and despite the anger and frustration that still swirled within Kagami, he sat back down again in silence, clenching his fists.

As if he was satisfied with that result, Akashi's features softened a little when he turned to address all of them.

 _"Since we actually got a few hints from the video, we can work with that."_

 _"Seriously? What's the plan then, Akashicchi?"_ Kise stood up again, seriousness emitting from his amber eyes, the same seriousness with which anybody in the room focused on the Rakuzan captain in the front.

 _"Seirin should continue practice, to prepare for the upcoming match."_

Before he could even go any further with his explanation, protests started to grow loud right away. _"What? We're supposed to just practice as if nothing happened?" "You gotta be kidding me! We're not abandoning Kuroko like this!"_  
Kagami suddenly jumped from his place and was in front of the point guard in mere seconds. _"You don't care about him after all, don't you! Just admit it!"_ Gabbing the smaller redhead by the shirt and lifting him almost off the ground, he was face to face with Akashi. A tiger-like snarl escaped his lips.

 ** _"KAGAMI!"_** almost the entire room shouted in unison, most of them already sitting at the edge of their seats, too shocked from the sudden and definitly dumb reaction from the power forward. What the hell was that idiot thinking? Probably nothing.

 _"I'm not following with your bullshit! I'm going to save Kuroko right away and-!"_ he was cut off, when he felt a hand resting on his own hand that he had clawed into the smaller teens shirt. Fine but sharp nails were digging relentlessly into the skin. Though Akashi looked completely calm and collected, even with his feet barely touching the ground, he emitted such a distinct aura that made it clear to better let go of his clothe.  
Kagami had to withdraw his hand with a slight hiss as the pain got worse and his crimson eyes trained on those red-maroon ones that didn't showed the slightest bit of fear or unease. Instead, Akashi just straightened his shirt like nothing happened.  
 _"It is impudent to interrupt people, when they're not done speaking. You should remember that, Taiga."_ It was quite unnerving to hear Akashi talk so level-headed, after what the taller teen just did, but if anything, it made it obvious just how much the Akashi heir had changed after the Winter Cup. He was in controll of himself, staying calm but still showing his intimidating leadership, no matter the situation.  
Turning back to the rest of the occupants in the room, the smaller redhead continued. _"As I was saying, Seirin should continue practicing. If you don't focus on your own task right now, there is not much hope for saving Tetsuya. You can't cancel the match and neither should you throw the game either. But don't worry. For now, I will take care of everything necessary and my former teammates will assist me with that."_

The silence that met his words was nearly crushing. There was so much, a few of them wanted to say and even Aomine was tempted to talk back, but in the end...Akashi was the most competent to get things in motion. A family of his rank had more options on settling this, then anyone else in the room had and they knew it, even Seirin's ace did.

But even so. It was obvious, that Kagami wasn't too convinced about this arrangement at all. He'd rather look for his partner himself, then let anyone else handle it. The trust department on his end was still not working well, despite the great times he already had with Kuroko's old teammates, but it was tearing him apart to know that there was nothing he could do right now. It was his fault that this happened after all. And it was now his responsibility to save Kuroko, his best friend and loyal shadow. He was the one who was there. He should've gone with him, should've helped him. But instead, he just stood there, waiting for him to return. He should've noticed something was off sooner. Maybe he could've done at least something.  
Kagami clenched his fists, his body was trembling in desperation. _"Damn it!"_ He never felt so helpless before and he hated his own useless self.

Riko surveyed her hotheaded ace closely. She knew that he was blaming himself for something no one could've prevented. But she knew as well, that, if she was telling him to stop blaming himself, it would be the same as trying to sweep the desert of all dust. Futile.

She glanced back to Akashi, his calm smile insured her and she nodded.

 _"Alright. We trust you guys to get our phantom back safely. We should meet up tomorrow after practice."_

This time, Akashi was the one who nodded.

It was settled then.  
They more or less had a plan to work with, but despite that, the unnerving, tense and uneasy feeling everyone had, hadn't dissipated at all. It still stuck with them and presumably wouldn't disappear completely until Kuroko was back in one piece.

 **.**

After the Generation of Miracles and Seirin bid their farewell, the team left the school and went out into the dark of the night, to get back to Tokyo.

It was an awfully silent trip. No one had the intention to speak, since no one knew what to say to comfort the others, when their own thoughts went down the road.  
Was that all they could do? Was it alright to leave the most important parts to Akashi and the others? Shouldn't they call the police instead? Or Kuroko's Parents...which no one actually knew, if they thought about it.

But was this the right thing to do after all? Coulnd't they do more? And better do it now, then just wait?

All those questions lingered between them, but none of them could muster the courage to actually ask them out loud.

As for Kagami...he was caught in his own thoughts, not even reacting to any stares he earned from his teammates.  
It was clear as day that he still coulnd't belive that this was really happening. How could anyone comprehent any of that? They just saw each other a few hours ago and now their beloved Phantom was kidnapped. This couldn't possibly be real, right? But it was. It was a crushing truth and it dragged the red head further down. He felt like drowning, not able to take deep breath. It was his fault and he was the one who would rescue his friend, even if it meant going against all reason.

Until they reached the central station, their uncomfortable silence had turned into an even more depressing mood, after they found themselves more exhausted from what they just went through. It was past midnight, when all of the Seirin finally arrived at their homes, but none of them could fall asleep right away.

Especially Kagami. He was laying awake the entire rest of the night, restlessly shifting under his sheets to think.

 _"There must be more that I can do for him..."_

* * *

 **Sooo, hope the longer chapter makes up for the long wait ;)**

 **Reviews are always welcome.**

 **Daylight**


	5. Where is Kuroko?

**A/N:**

Ehhhhh...yeah...I'm really sorry for the long wait q_q Didn't meant for this to take so long ^^°

But thanks to **controll of chaos** for beta reading this chapter ~

Hope the longer chapter makes up for the wait. Enjoy it ;)

 **FIY:** _I shortened the timeline a bit. I first mentioned the match would be on **Sunday** , now it's on **Saturday**. I noticed with two days to spare, the whole story wouldn't work the way I intended it to xD_

* * *

 **Saturday**

The next morning dawned fairly early for the Seirin basketball team after that eventful night and with it, the crushing realisation of the truth. Kuroko was really missing, kidnapped, and at the mercy of that lunatic and their match with Kirisaki Daiichi High was right around the corner. Neither the bright rays of the morning sun, nor the happy chorus of birds in the trees or the chirping cicadas - indicating a new, warm summer day - could lift their mood in the slightest. They had merely a few hours left to practice before the fateful match would start, but how could they focus on it now? How could they act like everything was fine and just wait for Akashi and the others to handle this situation, when they couldn't? He told them to focus on training, though he should've known that it would be impossible for them to practice while their hearts and minds were somewhere entirely else.

Riko took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose when she opened the gym doors. She knew this would be the most difficult day of training they had ever had and that was something, considering the camp from hell, the team had been through last year. They were all aware of what was on the line. It wasn't just Kuroko's life – which was terrifying enough - but it was their whole future in the sport they loved. After literally beating the entire Generation of Miracles in the last Winter Cup, all eyes were on them. They knew from the beginning that winning the Winter Cup would be hard, but actually defending the title of Japan's best high school basketball team would be even harder. But if they would lose now and not even in a tournament...and probably in the most humiliating and traumatizing way anyone could imagine, they would be done for...for good. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn't be able to bounce back from that so easily. This pressure was worse than any pressure on the court could ever be. This wasn't just any match. This was literally a game of life or death itself in so many ways. With consequences too high to stake on.

But they couldn't give up now. Kuroko was counting on them and he was never one to give up, even if the chances were against him.

 _"We can do this."_ Hyuuga's sudden calm voice from behind her startled Riko and she nearly screamed in surprise when she turned around. _"Yeesh!"_ she breathed deeply a few times to slow her fast heartbeat down again. She'd definitely have heart attack one of these days for sure.

For a second though, she silently hoped it was Kuroko scaring her as usual. Not that she wasn't happy to see Hyuuga, but...damn, this was all so messed up. She shook her head to gather her thoughts and lifted her gaze towards their captain, a taunting smile appearing on her lips. _"I know we can."_ she flipped her finger against the taller teen's forehead, who flushed, and turned around to prepare the gym for practice. Though she knew that this time she had to be careful with her boys. Not physically, but mentally. She just hoped her team could handle this stressful situation.

After a while, the rest of the team joined them. Most of them looked more dead than alive and Riko knew it wasn't solely because of the lack of sleep, if they got any sleep at all. Those lingering, demoralizing thoughts seemed to drag them further down.  
Even if they practised for the match, what would be the point of it? They couldn't hope to win, even if Kuroko asked them to, since none of them wanted to risk their friend's life. As if they could manage to miraculously rescue Kuroko AND win that damn match, especially against Kirisaki Daiichi High. And was it okay to let the Generation of Miracles handle everything on their own? Akashi had a lot of influence through his family but was that enough? But what choice did they have? If they called the police now, they would most likely cancel the match. And without being a hundred percent sure where Kuroko was, was just a risk they couldn't take. Who knew what the kidnapper would do, when the match was to cancled?  
They could confront the students of Kirisaki Daiichi High to get information, though, but then again, what if it was too late then?

All these thoughts were like lead, dragging them down with every passing minute.

Riko huffed. She could tell just by observing the boys that she had to do something fast. Moping around wouldn't help anyone.

Trying to collect herself, Riko sighed inaudibly and with a sharp sound of her pink whistle she got everyone's attention. _"Alright guys. Stop with the gloomy faces and start listening! I know this is hard, but we have to focus!"_ she paused for a moment, surveying everyone separately and intensely, until she continued. _"We're going through every little detail we have about Hanamiya's team and their tactics. We fought them before and we know firsthand how ruthless and dangerous their play is and I doubt that it changed to the better."_ Riko trailed off for a just a second, her eyes wandering to the ground, when she remembered Kiyoshi's sacrifice to protect the team from Hanamiya's foul play last year. Dragging herself back to the present, she coughed, her gaze as sharp as ever. _"This time, we can't afford to get ourselves injured too much, since we're two regulars short..."_ she meant Kuroko and Kiyoshi. _"...and if you haven't noticed by now, this week's training has focused on avoiding injuries the best you can during a game. We will be driving this into those thick heads of yours and continue the training regime for today. Get changed and warm up. We don't have time to waste,"_ she barked. As the players started to run off towards the locker rooms, Riko frowned. _"Wait a second!"_ She took a quick headcount of her team, when she noticed something.

 _"Where is Kagami?"_

The rest of the team scanned the gym for the redhead, who was usually the easiest to find.

 _"Don't tell me he overslept..."_ Hyuuga sighed, slightly annoyed, while pushing his glasses up.

 _"Well, we did get back late last night, but he hasn't missed practice for that before, "_ Koganei added, brows furrowed. Riko could hear murmuring starting to spread when some of the boys around her voiced their thoughts of reasons why their ace wasn't present, which seemed to end in Kagami probably having diarrhea from stress. She sighed in disbelief but got her phone out of her pocket nevertheless to dial his number.

It rang three or four times, until she could hear Kagami's voice strangely whispering into the phone.

 _"Hello?"_

 ** _"Hello my ass! Where the hell are you, Bakagami? We're supposed to practice, remember?"_** Riko almost shouted into the speaker, but stopped short, when she heard him hiss at her to shush her down. She looked dumbfounded, which concerned Hyuuga and Mitobe enough to shuffle closer to her side.

 _"Did you just 'shush' me?"_ Anger boomed in her voice and was obvious in her entire posture.

 _"Really bad timing, coach."_ Kagami whispered in a rather strained manner, as if he was trying to keep his own volume down.

The shock of a cold realisation suddenly hit her. He's not doing what she thought he was, right?

 _"Kagami...don't tell me you're…"_

 _"Eh, probably, yes."_ He paused and seemed to struggle with the right words. _"Look. I'm going to save Kuroko. I can't wait any longer when I know where he is!"_ the ace nearly growled and before she could say anything to reply at all he hung up, leaving Riko in shocked silence.

Hyuuga and Mitobe had noticed what the conversation was about, and carefully tried to approach her. _"Is he...?"_ the captain started but both of them stopped in their tracks and backed away when they noticed the dangerous and dark aura their coach was suddenly emitting.

Riko clenched her fists, a blood vessel throbbing at her temple. _"That little-! I'm gonna kill him!"_

Forcing herself to calm down, she looked back at her phone before she dialed another number she received recently, waiting for the other to pick up. She didn't have to wait long.

 _"Good morning."_ she could hear the coolly polite voice of the red headed captain of Rakuzan.

 _"Ah, Akashi-kun. Good morning. We...eh...might have a problem."_ she laughed nervously. She had never called him before and it was rather nerve-wrecking if she was to be honest.

But Akashi merely chuckled in amusement, which actually startled Riko for a moment.

 _"If you are referring to Taiga, I know."_

Riko gasped bewildered. _"How?"_ She didn't had to wait for him to answer, when she suddenly heard another voice muffled in the background at the other end of the line.

 _ **"Akashi? How in the-!?"** _Riko heard Kagami stifle his own surprised yelp down and he seemed to clap his hands over his mouth.

The coach sighed, somewhat relieved, but still seriously mad, though she was surprised that Akashi knew Kagami would...wait, no, that actually wasn't a surprise at all for anyone who knew that idiot of a power forward.

 _"I see... Can I leave that idiot to you then, Akashi-kun?"_ A creepy, slightly sadistic smile appeared on her face as she said so, making Hyuuga and Mitobe withdraw a few steps further away.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Akashi chuckled, almost honestly amused. _"Don't worry. I will handle him."_ He hung up, a tiny smile on his face when he looked down to Kagami, who was currently crouching down at the big iron entrance gate next to the yellowish brick wall that was lining the Kirisaki Daiichi High.

Kagami gulped. He never thought anyone would find him so fast.

 _"What are you doing here, Akashi?"_ he murmured, obviously unnerved by the way the other was looking at him. He seemed to hate it, that he couldn't figure the other redhead out.

Akashi just stood there, hands in his pockets, smiling knowingly but somewhat with a dangerous edge.

 _"The same could be asked to you, Taiga,"_ Akashi said calmly. _"I knew you would come here, even after I told you not to."_ His smile faded, replaced by a cold stare. It was at that moment Kagami realised...he was alone with him.

Completely alone with the one who used to say _'My orders are absolute'_ in that bloodthirsty way with those heterochromatic eyes which pierce right through your very soul. Though his matching red eyes were intimidating on their own right now.

Akashi took a step forward and for just a second Kagami's instincts overwrote his mind and the ace flinched back into an even smaller stance next to the wall. He would never admit that the smaller redhead had him on edge. Never. But instinct was rather difficult to ignore, let alone suppress.

Akashi's eyebrows lifted quite a bit, honest confusion in his features when he saw Kagami's reaction. _"Why are you scared of me?"_ He seemed almost hurt.  
 _"Seriously? Last time, you attacked me with fucking scissors! Or at least the other you did, I don't know!?"_ Kagami sounded cornered, his voice pitched higher at the end, but Akashi just sighed, as if he remembered something awful he'd rather not remember at all. And a bit apologetic, if Kagami could read his expression correctly.

 _"That was...due to circumstances. But I can assure you, I am not a maniac who attacks people randomly with scissors...or knives or any sharp objects for that matter."_ Pinching the bridge of his nose, Akashi shook his head. That conversation turned weird way too fast.

After lifting his gaze again, the red haired captain cleared his throat. Back to his original purpose.

 _"You can come out, as well, Daiki."_

Kagami gaped in utter confusion and bewilderment hearing that name. _"Eh?!"_ When did he get here?

A few seconds, as if unsure if it was a good idea to come out now, someone appeared from behind a tree on the other side of the gate, near the wall.

Aomine looked taken aback. _"Didn't think you'd notice."_ he grumbled in irritation and annoyance, but nevertheless came closer. _"How'd you even know I would be here?"_ Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Aomine looked down to Kagami, who was still crouching on the ground. The dark blue haired ace had an almost satisfied smirk on his face, seeing his rival literally kneeling in front of him.

Akashi chuckled, quite amused. _"When it comes to Tetsuya, you two are quite similar."_

As if he was expecting it, they both immediately roared in rage and disagreement.

 ** _"WHAT? I'm nothing like that idiot!"_** Kagami snapped, jumping to his feet in a second, his previous cautious behavior completely gone, and gesturing frantically in Aomine's direction.

The dark tanned ace huffed furiously, glaring daggers at Kagami. " _I'd rather **die** than be compared to that **dumbass** over there!"_ Aomine snarled, teeth bared like a panther and both clenching their fists, ready to pounce at each other.

 ** _"Ahomine!"_**

 ** _"Bakagami!"_**

When it seemed to be devolving into a brawl, Akashi cleared his throat to bring their attention back to the situation at hand. The two aces stopped abruptly.

So much for being stealthy observing their target. It wouldn't be a surprise if the whole neighbourhood had noticed them by now.

 _"If you're done, you should calm yourselves down."_ Akashi looked around. For now, no one had really noticed the argument or seemed to care much. Good.

 _"But since we're already here, we can see if Tetsuya really is held in this place."_ Even though he was sure that the bluenette wasn't there, it would help Kagami and Aomine to focus again. They were too upset, too rash to think rationally when the possibility of their phantom held captive in this place still lingered.

And indeed. His suggestion seemed to calm both aces enough for them to agree to a temporary truce. Akashi nodded and turned towards the school entrance, the other two following behind.

Now it was the three of them hiding behind the wall, a perfect view of the gym hall across the courtyard of the school. It was a rather unusual sight to see three highschool basketball players , half hiding and almost stacked on top of each other, depending on their size.

Luckily, nobody paid much attention to them, since it was Saturday and the school was almost empty. In fact, there weren't any other students lurking around, except for the basketball team who, like Seirin, was training until the last moment. But something was off. Every now and then, they ran out of the gym hall to round it in a quick steady pace and continue inside again. They seemed exhausted and even Hanamiya and the regulars of the team were among those who sprinted around the building. If it wasn't for Akashi, Kagami and Aomine would've already stormed in to reclaim their shadow with brute force, even without any clue where he might be, but looking at this scene in front of him seemed to confirm Akashi's thoughts.

After all, why would they practice so hard to guarantee their victory in the first place when they presumably had a hostage? No, there was more to it...but what? What was he missing?

Movement in the corner of his eye lead his attention away from the gym hall. Kirisaki Daiichi's basketball team wasn't the only thing Akashi had to deal with right now.

The longer they stood there, doing nothing but watching and waiting, Kagami and Aomine increasingly got on his nerves. Akashi knew they were action-oriented and not accustomed to patiently observing.

Kagami sighed, stretching Akashi's patience even further in the process.

 _"This isn't helping us at all. Let's just get inside and beat the hell out of them already!"_

 _"As much as I hate it, I'm with the dumbass right now."_ Aomine glanced down at Kagami, watching him grind his teeth at the insult.

 _"That won't help either. You two really need to work on your anger management and patience."_

There was a short silence when Aomine and Kagami just looked at Akashi, until he noticed what he just said.

Oh well, he was one to talk.

The thought crossed all of their minds as soon as the words had left Akashi's mouth, and even Akashi had to admit it sounded wrong hearing himself say that. But they didn't have the chance to spill it into a real conversation, when they suddenly heard the gym doors clatter and chatter started to grow louder. The practice seemed to come to a stop.

And - damn it - they were heading their way!

The three of them looked around.

There was nowhere to hide, unless they tried to sprint down the street and out of sight, but as soon as Hanamiya and his team left the gate, they would definitely spot them.

 _"Shit! What do we do? What do we do?"_ Aomine panicked and looked around quite frantically.

This wasn't part of their plan...if there even was a plan to begin with, Akashi noted. The captain considered his options and throwing himself into the spider's web was currently his best and likely the only working option in their favor.

 _"I will distract them. Look for a place out of sight…,"_ Akashi paused for a second. _"But not in the proximity,"_ he added quickly, just to make sure they wouldn't hide behind the next tree, as Aomine had done before. Seriously. How could the power forward even think that no one would've noticed him?

Both aces looked more than just a little flabbergasted by that suggestion. How would Akashi distract them anyway? But they didn't have time to reconsider. They nodded in agreement and ran alongside the wall that surrounded the school.

Akashi straightened himself up and with his usual calm and nonchalant expression, he went in to block Hanamiya and his team right before they could leave the courtyard.

For just a second, both captains glared at each other with the utmost contempt they had for each other, until the red haired teen displayed his best and polite smile he could muster right now.

 _"It's a long time since we've met each other face-to-face"_ he said calmly, despite the cold and disapproving looks on the others' faces.

Hanamiya laughed darkly with as much sarcasm as possible. _"I'm surprised to see you here, Akashi. In fact, what **ARE** you doing here?"_ There was suspicion in his tone, no one could deny. But even with that much rejection, Akashi kept his calm and collective posture. He knew what to do and he wouldn't let anyone stop him from achieving that.

 _"I was just curious as of how your team will approach your next match. You are up against Seirin High, as I recall?"_ A mirthless grunt left Hanamiya's throat and Akashi continued, _"Since they beat your team last year, I'm sure that you want to make sure that it won't happen again."_ he paused, eyes narrowing unnoticeably, as he eyed the dark haired teen. _"If I remember correctly, Hyuuga Junpei and Kuroko Tetsuya were the ones who foiled your plans, am I correct?"_ he added casually, earning a disgruntled snort from the dark haired teen at the mentioned names.

Akashi knew how to use words, how to act like there was nothing more to a normal question, but he also knew, that Hanamiya was smart. More so than many other people he had met and it was a dangerous attempt to get more informations. But whatever Hanamiya would say now, Akashi would watch him closely. Every move, every twitch of his eyebrows, his lips or hands. He would notice. He would determine whether he had something to hide or not.

After a small amount of time in which Hanamiya considered his answer and watching the redhead, he started to laugh maniacally. _"Don't worry. I'm well aware not to underestimate Seirin. But I'm flattered that the one who got beaten embarrassingly by the same team worries about me."_ there couldn't be any more sarcasm and malice in his voice as he glared Akashi down with a spiteful grin. His expression changed as fast as it had come, into an almost angry grimace, when he continued.

 _"They will suffer. All of them. They will regret what they did last time and when they notice, they're too deep in my net to get out again. Hyuuga and Kuroko won't be able to fool me this time. I know their tricks and strategies now and I will break them one by one, especially that Kuroko kid. He will be the first to fall. He and his entire team will kneel in front of me, when I'm done with them, just wait."_ Hanamiya's eyes widened in excitement. He could already see his opponents fall in front of him, begging. He stuck out his long tongue to taunt the other captain, making his statement even more vicious.

But soon he calmed himself down, an indifferent expression appeared on his face.

 _"So, if you don't have anything else you want to know, move. I'm not patient enough for a nice conversation with you."_ it was obvious, that Hanamiya didn't saw Akashi as someone to respect, to fear. It was more like he was spitting acid at him with every glare.

One of the uncrowned kings meeting the former captain of the Generation of Miracles? What would one expect, other than hate and disdain shooting between them?

And if Akashi was honest, he'd rather see that guy kneel in front of him, than letting him through. How gladly he would rip him apart and letting him choke on his own words, but right now, he had a more important priority on his mind, than starting this useless quarrel.

Scanning his surroundings quickly and unnoticed, to see if he could spot Kagami or Aomine, he stepping aside. _"Well then, good luck."_ Akashi said politely, though he was barely able to keep his fake calm and polite smile attached to his face and it took a lot out of him to control himself not to fall back into old habits he was so glad of getting rid of. He despised Hanamiya. Not just his play, but his personality and he would love to show that dislike by crushing him, personally and on the court. But he had to remind himself, that one false move right now, could cost Tetsuya's life and he would definitely not risk that. He wouldn't lose him again. Not ever!

With a last contempt glare between them, Hanamiya and his team took off.

Akashi released his breath he didn't know he was holding, to take another look around. As it seemed, Kagami and Aomine had enough time to find a place to hide without any attention to them. Maybe he should compliment them on this successful accomplishment. On second thought...maybe not such a good idea after all.

As soon, as Hanamiya and his team were out of sight, both aces squeezed themselfs out from a dark alley on the other side of the street, that should've actually been to narrow to fit even one of them in. The thought occurred Akashi to ask them about how'd they managed to even get inside that small gap, let alone get out of it, but he discarded it soon after. Not knowing 'everything' might be good in this particular situation...

 _"Nice screen there, Akashi. That was close."_ Kagami grinned genuinely, somehow relieved, when they gathered again.

After those two had been so obsessed with marching in and literally tearing everyone apart, they seemed a little too relieved now, that they haven't been caught by the exact same people, which they wanted to pick a fight with just minutes ago.

Akashi could just assume, that they had a change of mind or maybe they realised how foolish that idea was in the first place. Either one worked.

 _"It wasn't Hanamiya, who kidnapped Tetsuya."_

The seemingly blunt statement caught both power forwards off guard.

 _"What? But Tetsu sorta told us it was him."_ Aomine waved his arms in exasperation. He couldn't believe it...or maybe he wasn't so sure anymore WHAT to believe.

And neither did Kagami.

The smaller redhead just shook his head. _"Despite his sadistic personality, Hanamiya rather breaks his opponent himself. He's smart and he knows Tetsuya is an unpredictable liability during a match, but he is obviously more focused on destroying him on the court. Taking revenge on him seems personal, so I doubt he would kidnap him or let him get kidnapped on his behalf."_

Akashi had first noticed it, when they watched the video. The Kanji Kuroko had started, but stopped short after, when he thought he was caught by that stranger. It wasn't part of Hanamiya's name, so he wanted to tell them something further than that. But what?

It was definitely connected to Hanamiya, but it couldn't have been one of his teammates. They all knew that Hanamiya wanted revenge and they wouldn't dare to go against their captains will.

 _"If it wasn't him...then...who was it? And where is Kuroko?"_ Kagami seemed to understand what that fact actually meant for them.

They had no suspect anymore.

No real lead to go by.

And no clue where their phantom was held captive.

 _"I don't know, yet. But for now, we should head back. I'm sure your coach is eager to have a word with you, Taiga."_

The ace flinched at that mentioning and exhaled deeply, frightened and slightly shivering.

 _"Urgh, I forgot, I hung up on her...she's gonna kill me..."_ he muttered, obviously scared to get back to his team in dread of their coaches wrath.

 _"But before we get back, I have to make a quick stop somewhere."_ Akashi smiled a little, before he turned around and headed down the street, both aces following suit.

* * *

There it is, hope you had fun^^  
Let me know what you guys think so far ;) Reviews are always welcome and appreciated ^^

Daylight


	6. Important

**First of all, I'm so sorry, this isn't a new chapter.**

 **But to make it clear, I'm NOT abandoning this story! And I'm really, really extra sorry for the long wait and you might have to wait a little while longer.**

 **Cause, I'm currently not able to write anything productive. I'm taking care of three elders of mine at the moment  
** **(Mother, Father and Grandmother, who are all sick and in need of help right now)  
and on top of that I have to keep the business going, which leaves me with no spare time for myself.  
(You really don't wanna see my apartment right now u_u)**

 **BUT, I will definitely continue this fic, especially because I hate if storys stop in the middle of it, so please spare with me a little while longer.  
**

 **But this isn't the only thing you'll read here today.**

 **For all your patience, I'll give you a quick preview of the next chapter, I hopefully get done anytime soon:  
(Unbetaed...does it spell like this? .)  
**

* * *

 **Preview**

 _"Can't you think twice before doing something so stupid, Bakagami?"_ Riko barked furiously at the redhead, as soon as he entered the gym and stopped inside the doorway. Maybe to give himself a quick way to retreat in time, Riko thought.

Kagami lowered his head apologetic and seemingly ready for the punch he assumed he would receive at any moment. _"Sorry 'bout that."_

It turned quiet for a few seconds, Seirin's members had stopped whatever they were doing, to watch the scene curiously.

It was obvious to Riko that Kagami would go out on his own to find his partner and she knew she should've done something beforehand to stop him from it, but if anything, the situation would've probably gotten even worse if she had. But that still wasn't any excuse for skipping practice, especially right before their match and she had to make sure, that idiot wouldn't forget that any time soon. With this thought in mind, the coach was about to drag Kagami into a headlock just to make her point clear, when she noticed that her hot headed idiot wasn't alone at all.

 _"Yo!"_ came the sudden and almost indifferent greeting from right behind Kagami. The tanned Too ace Aomine was waving languidly a hand as if it was too exhausting to care for more movement.

Next to him was Akashi, smiling mildly and polite as he usually did nowadays and to an even greater surprise, there was yet another person positioned behind all of them, his green hair standing out on it's own.

 _"I am not sure, why I'm even here, nanodayo."_ murmured Midorima, adjusting his glasses with a light frown. Akashi had 'asked' him to meet him, before he had dragged them all to Seirin High. For what reason, he did not know.

 _"Akashi-kun, Aomine-kun, Midorima-kun. W-what are you doing here?"_ Riko was flustered, to say the least. When she asked Akashi to take care of Kagami for her, she didn't expect that he would actually bring him back personally and especially not with Midorima and Aomine in tow.

 _"We just wanted to make sure, that Taiga attents to his practice, without any further disruptions."_ the red haired captain stated calmly and entered the gym, Kagami awkwardly shuffling aside, since he was still blocking the entrance.

 _"As well as talk to you."_ Akashi continued, addressing the female coach.

For just a few seconds, there seemed to be a quiet conversation between them, that only they could understand, before Riko nodded. She swiftly turned around to her team, who was gathered behind her to listen in on the conversation and all of them straightened up as soon as they saw her eyes trained on them.

 _"Get moving! You too, Kagami! Since you've skipped warm up, take 30 laps after you change."_ she barked and the boys immediately hurried back to their previous tasks. After Kagami trotted of towards the locker room without any complains, Riko turned her attention back to the other three, indicating to the bench on the sidelines next to the court and waited until Rakuzan's captain had seated himself.

* * *

 **And Special thanks to all your lovely Reviews ^3^**


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